1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to dispensers for dispensing sheet-like articles from a support casing and more specifically to a compact business or calling card dispenser of a size to be conveniently carried in a person's coat, shirt or pants pocket. The dispenser includes a casing in which a plurality of business or calling cards are housed and from which are sequentially dispensed through a discharge slot utilizing an ejector or dispensing mechanism which cooperates with a card support plate resiliently positioned within the casing so as to insure that the cards are dispensed uniformly and without binding with the casing when the ejector mechanism is operated. The ejector mechanism for the dispenser is resiliently operated so that after a card is dispensed, the ejector mechanism automatically assumes a position for ejecting another card.
In one embodiment, the ejector mechanism incorporates a friction element which is designed to engage the cards or other articles as they are dispensed to thereby prevent any misfeeding of the articles from the dispenser casing.
In another embodiment of the invention, the card support casing is provided with a resilient guide member which is positioned adjacent the card discharge slot so as to prohibit the accidental dispensing of more than a single card at a time regardless of the thickness of the cards.
2. History of the Related Art
There are numerous occupations and professions which require individuals to carry their business or calling cards to identify themselves to prospective customers or clients. Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to provide card carriers or dispensers which serve to house a plurality of business or calling cards so that a card may be available when necessary to the person utilizing the card dispenser or carrier. In some instances, people will carry business cards loosely in their wallet, purse or pocket, however, business or calling cards carried in such a manner are frequently damaged or even destroyed as there is nothing to protect the integrity of the card while it is being loosely carried. Therefore, when a person needs to present a card to a prospective client or other person, the card being presented is sloppy or messy in appearance and that appearance relates directly to the professionalism of the person presenting such a card.
Other types of business or calling card holders have been designed out of leather or synthetic plastics and provide a small carrying pouch in which a number of cards may be selectively housed. Unfortunately, such pliable receptacles do not protect the integrity of the cards and the cards are frequently bent or otherwise deformed while being carried in such receptacles. Even in those instances where the utmost care is given to protecting such flexible receptacles for business cards, the housings themselves are not designed to provide equal pressure on the cards contained therein and certain cards will be subject to bending forces because of their arrangement within the carrier.
To overcome the foregoing problems, there have been numerous structures developed for protectively housing business or calling cards in dispensers having fairly rigid casings. In most of these dispensers, some type of ejector mechanism is provided to sequentially eject one card at a time from the casing while retaining the remaining cards within the casing in a compact and generally vertical array.
In applicant's copending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/045,474, filed May 4, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,058, and entitled Business Card Dispenser, a card dispenser is disclosed which presents an improvement over prior card dispensers. In that application, a dispenser is disclosed which is designed to provide support for a plurality of cards within a very compact casing. The dispenser not only provides security and protection for the cards to be housed therein but also provides a lightweight structure of such a size and shape as to be conveniently carried by a person in their pocket. The dispenser includes a removable cover and a card support plate upon which a plurality of business or calling cards are stacked. The support plate for the cards is resiliently urged upwardly towards the cover of the dispenser and serves to progressively feed the stack of cards towards an ejector mechanism which upon operation of a slide button urges the uppermost card from the stack outwardly through the opening in the casing formed between the cover and the primary body of the casing.
After using the dispenser of the aforementioned application, it was noted when different thicknesses of business or calling card materials were utilized, that on occasion, a card would bind with the ejector mechanism or at the slot in the housing and would not h=properly ejected or would be ejected with the card being scraped along an edge portion. Further, in some instances, the ejector mechanism would misfeed with the uppermost card binding somewhat within the casing. To overcome this, it was necessary to find a way to overcome the problem of the cards binding within the casing and to provide a partial release of pressure on the stack of cards so that the card stack would not interfere with the dispensing of the uppermost card during the operation of the ejector mechanism. Other misfeed problems were noted as the ejector would occasionally not properly engage the card being dispensed thereby requiring the ejector mechanism to be operated several times to dispense a single card.
There have been many other card dispensers or ticket dispensers designed over the years which incorporate a spring loaded card support plate mounted within a housing which support plate urges the cards vertically towards a dispensing mechanism. Some examples of these dispensers include U.S. Pat. No. 806,985 to Mallory, U.S. Pat. No. 909,110 to O'Neil, U.S. Pat. No. 1,244,338 to Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,503,144 to Warwick, U.S. Pat. No. 1,697,366 to Opfergelt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,174 to Brunetti, U.S. Pat. No. 2,591,855 to Nicholson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,882 to Jeffus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,378 to Gundling, U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,989 to Alltop et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,831 to Stewart. As with applicant's prior structure for a card dispenser, each of the foregoing patents discloses a structure that utilizes a spring loaded card support plate that places continuous pressure on the vertical stack of cards carried within the dispenser. Unfortunately, the exertion of continuous pressure on the vertical array within card dispensers has been found to be undesirable especially where heavier or thicker business cards are being dispensed. Oftentimes, the pressure on the vertical stack will cause the uppermost card to be forced against the housing or casing of the dispenser in such a manner that the card will be damaged or will jam in the opening of the casing as the ejector mechanism is operated. In some instances, the rear portion of such cards will be damaged as the ejector slides over the end of the card and the card binds within the casing.
An additional problem inherent in prior art dispensers relates to the accidental dispensing of more than a single card at a time. Often, due to the frictional contact between the card being dispensed and the next or underlying card, the underlying card will also be moved outwardly of the card support housing or casing. This requires that the extra card be reinserted into the housing for subsequent dispensing. The problem of dispensing two or more cards at a given time is further complicated by the differing physical characteristics of business and calling cards. As cards have differing thicknesses, the openings or discharge slots of conventional dispensers must be of a size to permit the thicker cards to pass therethrough. For example, conventional business or calling cards may have material thicknesses ranging between 0.005 to 0.012 inch (0.127 to 0.305 mm). Therefore, the opening or discharge slot in the casing or dispenser, such as the dispenser disclosed in applicant's previously discussed prior application, would be approximately 0.012 inch (0.305 mm). Due to the size of opening, when thinner cards were being dispensed, two cards would pass through the opening at a given time.
The present card dispenser has been specifically designed to alleviate the problems associated with the uniform and orderly dispensing of cards from card dispensers having substantially rigid casings or housings.